


Love While The Night Still Hides The Withering Dawn

by SpruceOutOfFive



Series: Sterek Week 2020 [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, How Do I Tag, Lydia/Stiles didn't become a thing, M/M, No cheating, One Shot, Romance, Slice of Life, Sterek Week 2020, pre-season final but otherwise the time is not specified, takes place in season 6B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27273163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpruceOutOfFive/pseuds/SpruceOutOfFive
Summary: Stiles and Derek are taking a slower route to Beacon Hills in order to keep Derek safe from the law enforcement. Their relationship develops new sides on the way.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Sterek Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984156
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	Love While The Night Still Hides The Withering Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Sterek Week 2020: Lyrics & Quotes. The lyrics are from the song _Silent Masquerade_ by Tarja (Turunen, ex-vocalist of Nightwish) and the title comes from Nightwish’s song _While Your Lips Are Still Red_. My thanks to Cera again for being a wonderful friend and betaing my work :)<3

_Red arises in the sky of Sunday morning_

_Washing the face of the mountain by the sea_

_I am the present without knowledge, without warning_

_The child in me will never cease to be_

_* * *_

Stiles sat shirtless on the edge of a car seat, with his feet touching the ground outside. It was early in the morning, the sun had not yet had the time to rise, only peeking over the horizon, but Stiles’ aching foot made it impossible for him to fall asleep again. 

He stared at it. He couldn’t see the obliterated toe as he had put his shoes back on before falling asleep, hoping to reduce the damage in case he moved and hit his toes on anything. It also kept Derek from crushing the foot if he had a restless night and rolled on top of Stiles.

The latter was just a precaution though, not something he needed to actually be worried about.

The wolf in question hadn’t moved at all during the night. He never did. He was still there, lying on his stomach with his back tattoo for all the world to see, head buried in a pillow behind the driver’s seat - just like Stiles’ had been before he had sat up and opened the passenger's side back door.

They had spent the first nights sleeping on tilted front seats. In Stiles’ opinion, it had been extremely uncomfortable. And considering the fact that Derek had gone and bought an inflatable car mattress _the second_ he accepted that Stiles truly was joining him on his trek back to California, the wolf hadn’t been a fan of sleeping on the front seats either.

The first night that they slept next to each other, _truly_ next to each other, skin to skin, had been weird. They had never had that much physical contact with each other. Sure, there had been some manhandling, both aggressive and protective, and even a few supporting touches, and who could forget the time in the school's pool where Stiles spent _hours_ holding paralyzed Derek and kept him from drowning? 

But _this_? This was new. And sharing the bed with a guy who had contributed to his bisexual awakening made the situation even more weird and awkward for Stiles.

It didn’t help the matter that he knew both of them were single. Stiles and Lydia had decided not to pursue a relationship that would have been long distance from the very start. And Derek had mentioned that he hadn’t dated anyone since he and Braeden split ways some months after Derek left Beacon Hills. 

So yes, the first night had been awkward. As had been the day after. The next night as well. Only it was more because in addition to sleeping together, they’d ended up _sleeping_ together. 

And that’s how the _days_ returned to normal again. 

During the days they were the same Derek and Stiles they’d always been. They snarked. They argued. They sat in silence. And they always, _always_ , got each other’s backs. 

Not like a road trip from North Carolina to California was full of dangers, but they had to lay low and keep Derek from being spotted by anyone in law enforcement. And Stiles needed help with tending his foot. Witnessing all the death and carnage over the years had somewhat desensitized him to blood and chopped-off body parts, but he did not find it easy to deal with it when it came to his _own_ body.

So, they had each other’s backs. Stiles took care of most of the shopping they needed to do and made sure Derek was not seen by anyone who could pose a problem. He was always ready with a plan and a diversion. In exchange, Derek tended Stiles’ wound and took away his pain. 

It was a good deal, and it showed how great a team they made. The days were practically as perfect as they could be.

It was the nights that were different. Not worse, though.

Since the first night they slept together, they kept doing it. Whenever they climbed on the back seat at the same time, they spent the first part of the night rolling on the sheets. When they were done, they cleaned up and went to sleep. Sometimes they did it while lying in each other’s arms, other nights they were on the different sides of the mattress with an empty space between them. 

Still, Stiles loved the nights. It didn’t matter if they were skin to skin or as far apart as they could, the connection they had whenever the dark took over never weakened.

It was the mornings that Stiles hated.

That was the cold, silent time between the night’s intimcity and the day’s partnership. It left them awkward and wrong-footed and it always took time before they managed to fall into the same rhythm again. And it wasn’t always pretty. 

Since the first time they slept together, all the actual fights had taken place in the morning. There hadn’t been that many of them, but the number wasn’t zero either.

Stiles glared at the rising sun. There was a body of water not too far from where Derek had parked the car. It had started to glimmer already. It was beautiful, Stiles could admit that. But knowing that that beauty was going to once again shred the connection Stiles shared with Derek, he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it.

Stiles wasn’t sure if it was his displeased huffing or the wind blowing cool air inside the car, but he heard Derek shuffling on the mattress.

“Can’t sleep?” Derek asked with a voice still gruff from sleep.

Stiles shook his head but didn’t turn. He might as well stare the morning into the eye if it was time for their showdown again. What he hadn’t expected was a warm hand gripping his shoulder gently.

“Close the door,” came the command. 

Stiles did as ordered. He moved back and raised his feet off the ground and back to the car. When the door was closed, the hand grasping his shoulder moved around his waist and was joined by another one. Derek pulled Stiles closer, back to his arms. Black lines showed up where skin touched skin as Derek took away his pain.

It was heaven.

It also made Stiles’ body relax and his eyes to close, involuntarily.

“Let’s sleep the morning away,” Derek whispered the proposal against Stiles’ skin. 

Stiles didn’t have the time to express how fully on board he was with the plan, as he was already on his way to the la-la land.

* * *

_Is not the future we see,_

_Endless daze of fantasies_

_The ocean whispering me_

_Time really doesn't exist_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://spruceoutoffive.tumblr.com/) :)


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